Ch.4Prologue (4)

After living practically full-time in the library managed by the wizard librarian for about a week…

“…and that concludes today’s lesson. How did you find today’s story?”

“It was very interesting! And, um… thank you for teaching me even though it must be troublesome!”

“Not at all. Teaching an exceptional student like yourself is a pleasure in itself, young master.”

Somehow, I ended up studying current affairs and general knowledge from the librarian during my free time, and today too, I was cramming what I’d learned about this world into my head while mentally reviewing everything I’d studied so far.

When I was on Earth, I wasn’t exactly the type of diligent young man who faithfully kept up with preview and review of lessons, and honestly, that hasn’t changed much now either….

But since this studying feels like reading a fantasy world setting guide, I’ve been able to approach it almost as if it were play.

And what I’ve learned through this study has been somewhat shocking to me.

You might find it surprising, but until now, I had been thinking that this world was one that had developed through magic.

For me, who has lived only in this barony since my reincarnation, this place seemed not only too splendid to be believed as medieval, but also had magic lamps powered by mana and various magical tools that could be found without difficulty.

Moreover, the clothes people wore, aside from their colorful hues, had designs closer to the modern era than medieval times.

Until I learned the truth, it wasn’t strange for me to harbor such misunderstandings.

Of course, now that I know the reality, things are different.

Unlike what I had predicted, this world, if I had to describe it, is closer to dark fantasy…. not exactly a pleasant world to live in.

First of all, this world is a kind of medieval fantasy world. Various supernatural phenomena, including magic, have become part of the world, and at the same time, it gives a strong impression of being chaotic overall.

This is because the supernatural power called “Mystery” has grotesquely transformed everything in the world, including humans.

Venture just a little into deep forests, and you’ll find magical beasts teeming with powers influenced by “Mystery,” and the ruler of a region is essentially a monster with power comparable to a biological tank.

Additionally, there are bizarre natural environments created under the influence of this power called “Mystery,” and furthermore, all sorts of beings that threaten human survival swarm throughout the world.

To put it bluntly, this world has an insane ecosystem and environment where gigantic biological tanks spewing fire might suddenly appear on any ordinary hill behind your neighborhood, or where corpses left unattended for extended periods start moving on their own.

But even in such a harsh environment, humanity has managed to survive because….

Like the other inhabitants of this world, humans too can wield supernatural powers derived from “Mystery.”

Of course, the impact this has on the lives of people living in this world is both significant and minimal.

Magic, which has developed to match or even surpass modern technology in certain aspects, remains the privilege of a few.

The minority of powerful individuals who possess supernatural powers and can stand against humanity’s enemies use those powers to rule over their fellow humans.

Thanks to these individuals’ life-risking efforts, most people don’t have to worry about dying like ants, but in exchange, they live in a world that maintains a civilization level not much different from Earth’s medieval period.

Although they may get a taste of fragments of supernatural power in some aspects of their lives, ordinary people ultimately just barely scrape by day to day.

…That’s probably unavoidable in any human society.

Anyway, this world being darker than I had imagined was bad news, but coexisting with it was some good news that might make up for it.

And that good news was about the scale of this “Alzar Barony” that I would inherit.

※ ※ ※

In typical medieval fantasy settings, a baron is usually depicted as the lowest rank among the five noble ranks in the peerage system.

And this trend isn’t much different in this world either; normally, a count has more power and influence than a baron, and a duke more than a count.

However, this tendency is treated almost as an exception among the territorial nobles of this world.

In the Frankish Kingdom, noble titles are broadly divided into court nobles and territorial nobles.

While court nobles are bureaucratic nobles who protect the royal family and receive titles from them, territorial nobles are more like kings ruling over small kingdoms called territories.

From its founding, the Frankish Kingdom was formed by various small kingdoms uniting around the strongest noble, and because of this, each territory is nominally a subject but practically closer to a semi-autonomous vassal state with complete self-governance.

Even if a family originally became nobility by receiving fiefs from the king, by now they show little difference from other territories.

And in such a kingdom, a territorial noble’s title is tied to the land.

The noble ruling Barony A is Baron A, and the noble ruling County B is Count B.

Even if Baron A conquers County B in a territorial war, Baron A doesn’t become Count A but instead holds both titles: Baron A and Count B.

Of course, in the past when royal authority was strong and noble titles were granted by the king, territorial noble titles could be promoted to higher ranks, but nowadays each title has become completely fixed.

In other words, no matter how vast one’s influence or how great one’s power, if all the territories under one’s rule are baronies, that noble remains a baron….

The “Alzar Barony,” my hometown in this life and the territory I will inherit, falls exactly into this situation.

Originally, the Alzar Barony was an ordinary territory like others in the Frankish Kingdom, just a bit larger, but things changed after my father inherited the baron title.

At that time, my father was involved in various disputes with neighboring territories and somehow ended up in a territorial war where everything was at stake. As luck would have it, he won and succeeded in bringing the neighboring territory and its subordinate territories under his control.

As a result, the region now called “Alzar Barony” is a vast area combining a total of three baronies.

In terms of sheer size, it exceeds the level of an ordinary county.

The original Alzar Barony, plus the Ruhr Barony won in the territorial war, and the Colland Barony that was attached to Ruhr.

Each territory has a city with a population of over 10,000 serving as its capital—considered a metropolis by this era’s standards—making three in total.

There are eight medium to small-sized cities with populations of about 1,000 to 2,000 that formed naturally at road junctions.

In addition, there are at least hundreds of villages, each with about 100-500 residents, forming the economic foundation of the territory.

These figures don’t even include dozens of manors granted to or divided among knights and vassals serving the baron, yet the territory still possesses this much power.

Therefore… the total population of the entire territory must be at least around 200,000.

Among the eastern lords of the Frankish Kingdom, the Alzar Barony is already a major power that has somewhat secured regional hegemony. In other words, it’s practically a state that has seized control of the eastern hegemony.

‘…This is truly fascinating.’

And what I found most interesting was that the Alzar Barony still has much room for growth and, furthermore, possesses a certain degree of autonomy.

The Alzar Barony uniquely has different industrial structures for each territory.

For instance, the Alzar region, like most territories belonging to the Frankish Kingdom, is characterized by an industrial structure centered on agriculture and livestock farming.

The land of Alzar, while not exceptionally fertile, ranks in the upper-middle tier among the famously fertile lands of the Frankish Kingdom, and with relatively good civil engineering work, the harvest yield remains consistent year after year.

The Ruhr region, despite being adjacent to rugged mountainous areas, has fairly fertile land and is a source of quality bituminous coal and iron ore, making it developed in mining and industry.

The situation is such that one might not find it strange to say it has one foot in the industrial age despite being mostly medieval, and the iron industry is also actively operating.

And finally, the Colland Barony… having only recently been incorporated into human territory and neglected for a long time, most of its land is either undeveloped or classified as dangerous.

Of course, this has attracted wanderers and hunters seeking rare magical beasts and strong opponents, forming a somewhat unique industrial structure, but I suspect its true value will only emerge when it’s properly developed….

…But what do I know to even pretend to be knowledgeable? Honestly, from my position where there’s still so much I don’t know, I’m reluctant to make definitive judgments.

Especially as a mere 4-year-old child who doesn’t even know exactly how this society functions.